BoXer DO

This was a preemptive farewell to the DCA President's Club
and a welcome into the fold, or rather penalty box, for us
UA flyers. Started out with those needing access to the club
hanging around near the ticket counter so cova could show us
how to get gate passes (it turns out that now RCC members
have the same status as PC members to get gate passes for
the club). The PC, which I'd not been in in recent memory,
is rather nicer than the admittedly quite acceptable other
Star choices at this airport (RCC in pier B and the USAC in
pier C being the others), but the wine, some pineapply
purple dreck, is inferior, not that I didn't take three
stomach-churning glasses of it. People gradually filtered
in, and we ended up with a table of ten-odd, with a couple
of satellite tables; the few other guests looked either
nervously or wonderingly at us. Thanks to USA18DCA for the
idea; it was good to reconnect with renard, chrisw, cova,
and scubaflyer again and to meet the rest of you!

On to Lauriol, an extremely happening Latinate restaurant,
where drinks were reasonable and my duck with orange sauce,
though done a bit more than I expect, was classically
palatable. Then a mild barhopping:

The priapic Madam's Organ, where we invaded the dingy and
dilapidated but somehow rather raffish roof, followed by
Bourbon (the Adams Morgan bars vie with each other for
catchy names, and what's more catchy than Bourbon?), where
a glass of Eagle Rare was most welcome. Some of the younger
and more vigorous went on elsewhere, but I had public trans
to deal with and an early day the next day and so walked
renard and Steph3n to the Woodley Park metro, where
goodbyes and promises of a rematch were given.

Thus ended four weeks of DO-related gyration, which was
followed by 3, count 'em days of respite before Star MegaDO.